Firearm



J an. 9, "1923.

I. F. HORAN.

- FIREARM.

FILED AUG.27. 191s.v

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

' im? l l l -Q E will/.Inl I T. F. HORAN.

J an. 9, 1923.

FIREARM.

FILED Aua.27,191a.

SSHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEY.

T. F. HORAN.

Jari. 9, 1923.

FIREARIVI.

FILED AUG. 27. 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR.

TIMOTHY E HORAN BY QM/MM ATTORNEY.

Patented dan. 9, 1923.

Y 1 maree? paraat: orfraic.

irrraoTHY r. HORAN, or Irion, NEW YORK.

frenesia.

Application filed August 27, 1918. Serial No. 251,697.

To all whom t may concern:

|Be it known that l, TIMOTHY F. Homan,

a citizen of the United States, residing at llion, in the county of Herkimer and' State onf NewYork, have invented certa-in new and useful Improvements in F irearms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing. -My invention relates to an automatic firearm and I declare the following to be a full, clear, concise and exact description thereof sufficient to enable anyone skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts.

The object of the invention is to provide a gas operated firearm that will act automatically. rlhe firearm is of simple construction embodyingan actuator, a breech block, a trigger, a main spring and a trigger spring. The firearm is equipped also with a sear which is adapted to effect a semiautomatic operation of the gun. The sear is cone` trolled by a sliding bar which canjbe manipulated to convert the firearm from an automatic to a semiautomatic gun as well as to act as: a safety lock.

The features will be understood by referriig to the drawings in which:

ig. 1 is a fragmentary view showing a vertical section of the firearm with certain parts in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the Fig. 3 is a4 fragmentary view, showing a vertical longitudinal section-of the receiver portion ofthe firearm and certain'relative parts in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side view, lon a reduced scale, of the firearm;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary View of the actuator of the firearm, showing a modified form of breech bolt in vertical section; 1

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a still further modiied form of breech bolt, used in connection with the firearm;

Fig. 7 isa fragmentary perspective view of an-actuator employed in connection with the modified form of breech bolt shown in Fig. 6; f Fig. 8 is a vertical section on a reduced scale of the firearm, taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 3;

'bolt 7.

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of a cartridge magazine;

F ig.-10 is a plan View of thesear;

Fig. 11 isa side elevation of the sear shown assembled with the trigger;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the actuator and firing pin of the firearm; b 1F ig. 13 is a perspective view of the breech Fig. 14 is a perspective viewof the sear ofthe firearm;

F ig.15 yis a perspective view of a sliding i safety bar;

Fig. 16 is a transverse section on a reduced scaletaken on the line 1616 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; l l

Fig. 17 is a transverse section-.taken on the line 17-17 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 18 is a transverse section taken on thev line 18-18 of Fig. 4;

.Fig. 19 is a perspective detail view of a springused in connection with the cartridge magazine; ,A

Fig. 20 is a transverse horizontal section, looking down from above, upon the line 20- 20 of Fig. 13.

Referring more-particularly to the drawings, the 'firearm has a barrel --1-` with the usual rifling for giving the bullet a twirl, asl

Vit isprojected from the'barrel. The barrel -1 is equipped with ribs A for cooling purposes and the threads 2, whereby it is secured to the correspondingly threaded aperture of the receiver 3. rlhe receiver 3 is shouldered at 4 for the reception of the shouldered end of the metal piece 5. The stock 6` is attached to the metal piece 5 by a The head of bolt 7 rests in a metal socket-piece 7 a. The metal piecel 5 is attached also to the receiver 3 by a bolt 8 that engages a threaded aperture in the forward part 'of the metal piece 5. The bolt 8 is hollow and adapted for the reception of the .bolt 9 Awhich is threaded at its upperend toi the 4receiver 3. By yremoving the bolts 8 and 9,.

the receiver 3 and metalpiece 5 can be dissociated. A

A collar 11 is mounted upon the forward part of the barrel --1-4 and is provided with a depending hollow cylinder l2 for the reception of the forward end of the gas tube 13. and having a conduit 15` and a passagewa 16 at right angles thereto ,passes up throug A screw 14 with a tapered upper end n a threaded orifice in the cylinder 12, whereby to form a conduit from the bore of the barrel -1- to the interior of the gas tube 13. The gas tube 13 is located just below the barrel -1- and is supported at'it's rear end The as tube 13 contains the hollow piston 21 of t e actuator. The rear part of the actuator is bifurcated at 21a forming the oppositely disposed fiat bars 22-22. The fiat bars 22 are reduced to form recesses 23-23 with inclined surfaces at 24-24. iAn irregular shaped piece 25 is attached to the free ends of the bars 22. The piece 25 has an upwardly extending part 26 from which projects forwardly the firing pin 27 that isv made integral with the part 26. The piece 25 has also the lateral projecting lugs 28-28 which slide in corresponding guide grooves 29-29 formed in the sides of the receiver The rear ends of the guide grooves 29 are open at 30 to permit the dissociation of the 'actuator.

A coiled spring 31 is disposed within the chamber of the hollow piston 21 and bears at one end againstthe forward inner surface of the piston 21 and at the other end against the part 32al of the receiver 3 which part eX- tends down between the flat bars 22. The

, coiled spring 31 normally pushes the actuator forward.

The inverted U-shaped breech block 32 is disposed over the firing pin 27 and overthe irregular shaped piece 25 attached to the rear ends of the bars 22. The breech block 32 is open at its base and has a closure at 33 provided with an aperture 35 'for the forward end of the firing pin 27. The front surface of the closure 33 is adapted for pushing the cartridges 36 into the barrel --1-.

Lugs 37-37 formed integral with the rear end of the breech block l32 project downwardly and forwardly and are adapted to fit loosely into the correspondingly formed recesses 23-23 of the bars 22--22, so as to move freely in and out of said recesses 23. The pitch or angle of the lugs 37 is slightly more near to the vertical than the angld'of the recesses 23, whereby to aid in forcing the lugs 37 out of the recesses 23. The lower edges 40--40 of the inverted U-shaped breech block 32 are tapered at 41-41 to fit over the taper 42 of the lbars 22 ofthe actuator. Said edges are tapered less from 4.2a to the front end 43 of the breech block 32, whereby to allow 'a little space between said edges and the upper edges of the fiat bars 22. This space will permit the movement of the breech block 32 independent off'the actuator, whereby the rear end of thebreech block 32 can move up into the shouldered recess 44 illustrated in Fig. 3. The forward end of the breech block 32 is equipped with the overhanging jaws 45--45 to form a guide groove 46 for the passage of the rims 47 of the cartridges 36. The groove 46 is formed on the arc of a circle, so as to direct the cartridges 36 toward the lateral opening 48 in the receiver 3. A shoulder 50 inside the breech block 32 forms a stop against which the adjacent part l26 of the piece 25 of the actuator abuts, whereby to arrest the forward'movement of the actuator under the iniiuence of the coiled spring 31.

The firing pin 27 is held in cocked position by the trigger 52 having a shoulder at 53 for the purpose. The trigger 52 is fulcrumed upon a pivot pin 54 which is mounted in the sides of the receiver 3. The shoulder 53 is held up normally in the path of the forward edge of the irregular shaped piece 25 between the bars 22vby a coiled spring 55 that is partly housed in a recess formed in the metal piece 5. The free end of the trigger projects through a recess 56 made in the metal piece 5, which recess allows the necessary rotation of the trigger 52 upon its pivot pin 54. The metal 'piece 5 is recessed at 57 and is formed with the usual guard 58 for the free end of the trigger 52.

In order to make the firearm semiautomatic, or in other words to load the gun automatically and to fire each time the trigger 52 is pulled, there is employed a sear 60 which is fulcrumed upon the same pivot 54 that supports the trigger 52. The sear 6() has one long arm 61 .and a shorter arm 62 which arms straddle'the upper end o-f the trigger 52. The rear end of the sear 60 is raised normally by a coiled spring 64 that has one end disposed in a suitable recess made in the trigger 52 and the .other end disposed against the projecting lug 65 formed on the sear 60. This elevation of the rear end of the -sear 60 ,will hold the shoulder 66 formed on the Sear 60 in the path vof the shoulder 67 provided on the base of the irregular shaped piece 25 of the actuator. The engagement of the shoulder 66 on the sear 60 `with the shoulder 67 on vthe piece will 'stop the forward movement of the actuator under the tension of the spring 31 and hold the same just before it comes to cocked position or just before the shoulder 67 on the piece 25 has come into engagement with the shoulder 53 of the trigger 52.

The projecting lug 65 of the sear 60 fits into a slot 68 formed in the ltrigger 52. whereby to limit the upward movement of the rear end of the' sear 60 under tension of the spring 64 and also to effect, at the proper time, a depression of the rear end of the Sear 60 when the trigger pull is released and the trigger 52 turns upon its fulcrum pin 54 to normal position illustime in Fig. a Thisdepfession of the,

rear end of the sear 60 will disengage the shoulder 66 thereof from the shoulder 67 on the base of the piece 25, whereby to permit the actuatorlto travel forward a very small fraction of an inch until it is stopped in cocked position by the shoulder 53 of the trigger 52.

The mechanism for controlling the automatic and semiautomatic action of the firearm embodies a sliding bolt-70 which is mounted in the metal piece 5. The lower surface of the bolt 70 is recessed at 71 and has three notches 72, 73, and 74 countersunk in said recess 71 in which notches plays thel upper surface of the spring pressed plun- V ger 75, whereby to limit the movement of the bolt 70 and to hold the same temporarily in any one of three positions. The recess 71 prevents the displacement of the bar 70 from the gun. The upper surface ofthe bolt 70, or that opposite the recess 71, has A' two notches 76 and 77, the notch 77 being larger than 76, and ashoulder 78 disposed between the notches 76 and 77.l When the plunger 75 rests in the middle notch 73- of the three notches or when the ends of the bolt 7() are substantially flush with the outer surfaces of the 'metal piece 5, the shoulder 78 of said bolt 70 will lie irrimediately below the forward end 53 of the Ward end of the long arm 61 of the scar 60, thereby holding the shoulder 66 of the sear down, so that it will clear the shoulder 67 on the irregular shaped piece 25. At the same time, the notch 76 will lie under the forward end 53= ofthe trigger 52 and permit its free movement upon its fulcrum pin 54. This disposition of theA bolt will lockthe sear and, thereby permit the gun to4 shoot automatically, so long as the trigger 52 is depressed. When, however, the bolt 70 is pushed to the left, the notch 77 will lie ,beneath the forward end of the trigger 52 and the arm 61 of the sear 60, thereby allowing the full operation of the sear 60 and ofthe trigger 52. AThis disposition of the bar 70 will effect a semiautomatic firing of the gun, or the firing of the gun i each time the trigger 52 is pulled. The

arm 62is made shorter than arm 61, so'as not to be affected by the movements of bolt 70. v

Themagazine 80 is a long narrow casing adapted for holding-cartridges 36 and is equipped with a spring pressed follower 81whereby the cartridges 36 are fed `automatically upward into loading position. Themagazine- 80 is held in a recess 83 formed in the metal/piece 5 by a spring clip 84 attached to the casing at 85. The spring Vclip 84 has the shoulders 86-86 adapted to rest in correspondingly shaped by first disposing `a loaded magazine 80' into place. immediately the magazine 8O is pushed home in 'the receiver part 3 of the lfirearm, the spring clip v84 will automatically carry the shoulders 86 thereof into the-recesses formed in the metal piece 5 to hold the magazine 80 in assembled position.v When the magazine becomes empty, the same can be replaced by pressing forward with the finger on the lower end of the spring clip 84 and then pulling down- -ward.

Assume the bar 7() is pushed to the right in which position the plunger 75 will engage the aperture 72 and, permit the automatic `firing of the gun. The firing pin 27 and breech block 32 can be drawn back manually into cocked position by pulling on the handle 90 which projects through a slot 91 in the receiver 3 and is attached to one of thel bars' 22 of the actuator. When the actuator andl Iiring pin has been drawn back, a cartridge 36 will rise automatically into loading position in front of the breech bolt 32 andthe rim A47 of the cartridge will enter the grooves formed bythe jaws 45 of the bolt. In this position of said parts, the lbreech bolt 32 will push the cartridge forward into 'the chamber in the barrel -1, immediately the handle 90 is released. p. This forward movement of the breech bolt 32 will be arrested by thev engagement of the shoulder 67 of the'irre` gular shaped piece 25 with,-v the shoulder 66 on the sear 60. If the trigger 52 isl pulled now and held, the actuator will move a short distance forward under the tension of the spring 31, independent of the breech bolt32, thereby causing the lugs 37 on the rear end of the breech bolt 32 to ride up out ofthe recesses 23 of the bars .22 and force the rear top edge ofthe breech bolt 32 temporarily into engagement with the shouldered recess 44 to temporarily lock the bolt 32. At the'sarne time, .the firing pin 27 which movesl forward with the actuator will strikeA the primer of the .cartridge 36 and explode the same. Immediately the explositon occurs, andl the bullet -is projected through thel barrel 1-, the gases will expand through the conduit 15 and passageway 16 of the screw 14 into the gas tube 13 and force back the pistony 21. Vhen the lugs 37 come opposite the recesses23 in the bars 22 which move backward'with the piston 21, the same will drop down therein, thereby unlocking the breech bolt 32 and causing it to move backward in unison with the actuator. The jaws 45 of the breech bolt will extract the empty shell from its chamber in the'barrel -1-, whichV shell will `be ultimately 'ejected throughv the lateral opening 48. When the actuator reaches its rearmost position, the next cartridge 36 will spring into loading position, thereby'pushing the empty shell through the opening 48. The same operations just described,will be repeated, un-

' til all the cartridges 36 in the magazine 80 have been fired.

The gas tube 13 can be removed easily by withdrawing screw 14 and then moving the collar 11 longitudinally towards the muzzle of the gun, whereby to release the rear end of the gas tube 13 from its seat in collar 18; The removal feature of the gas tube 13 and screw 14 is convenient for cleaning said parts.

- F ig. 5 shows a modification of the breech bolt, here referred to as 100. The breech bolt 100 carries the firing pin "101 which is housed in a suitable recess in the breech bolt 100. rThe front end of the firing pin is reduced in diameter and surrounded by a coiled spring y102, which tends to press the firing pin towards the rear of the bolt 100. The firing pin 101 is held against the tension of the spring 102, however, by a pin ,103 that project-s transversely through the elongated slot 104 formed in the firing pin 101. The'pin 103 is mounted in the adjacent sides of the breech bolt 100. The elongated slot 104 permits a given amount of lngitudinal movement of the firing pin 101. In this construction, the firing pin 101 travels independent of the. movement of the actuator 107. The part 108 of the actuator 107 serves as a hammer, whereby to hit the firing pin 101, 'after the breech bolt 100 has been locked, as in the formerv constructibn, heretofore described.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a still further modiiication of the breech bolt 110 and the actuator 111. Here the firing pin 112 is housed in ay recess formed in the-breech bolt 110. The firing pin 112 is urged normally forward by a spring 113 that bears at one end against the shoulder 114 formed by the head of the firing pinand at thel other end against the collar 115 held to the breech bolt 110. The shaft of the firing pin 112 slldes freely through the aperture of the collar 115. Then free end of the firing pin 112 is provided with a depending arm 116 that projects downwardly into a recess 117 formed by the walls 118 that unite the ends of the bars 119-119 of the actuator 111.'

As in the former constructions, when the actuator 111 goes forward, it will carry the breech bolt 110 therewith and cause the rear end of the same to move up into locked position. Simultaneously with this locked position of the breech bolt 110, the depending armV 116 lconnected to the firing pin 112 will be released by the shoulder 53 of the trigger 52. In the meantime, the actuator 111 has moved forward a short distance, independent of the firing pin 112, to allow the firing pin t9 move forward to eX- plode the cartridge. After the discharge of the cartridge, the opposite wall 118 of the actuator 111 will make contact with the depending arm 116 and thereby carry the breech. bolt 110 and connected parts backward, preparatory to reloading the Having^` thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a firearm, a barrel, a removable gas chamber, a screw having a tapered upper end, whereby to aid in holding said gas chamber to said barrel, an actuator carrying a firing pin, a breech bolt, gas actuated means for moving said actuator, whereby to operate the breech bolt to reload the gun, and inclined surfaces on said actuator adapted to elevate one end of said breech bolt intolocked position for firing the gun.

2. In a firearm, a barrel, a gas chamber, a collar, a screw having a tapered upper end, whereby to aid in holding said collar and gas chamber to said barrel, an actuator carrying a firing pin, a breech bolt having grooves for extracting the cartridges from the barrel, and bars having open inclined recesses, whereby to move said breech bolt into locked position while firing the Gun.

b 3. In a irearm,.a barrel, a gas chamber, a hollow screw to aid in holding said gas chamber to the barrel, an actuator having a iiring pin attached, a breech bolt, grooves formed on the arc. of a circle in the front surface of said breech bolt, whereby to eX- tract the cartridges from the barrel, bars having recesses, and depending lugs on said breech bolt adapted to slide in and out of said recesses, whereby to lock the breech bolt in firing position.

4. In a firearm, a barrel, a removable gas chamber connected with said barrel, a hollow screw having a tapered upper end, whereby to aid in holding the gas chamber to the barrel, a piston in said gas chamber,

bars connected with said piston, open recesses in said bars, a breech bolt, and de pending lugs`on said breech bolt, adapted to ride in ,and out of said recesses, whereby to lock and unlock said breech bolt in rino position.

5.oIn a firearm, a barrel, a gas chamber, a piston in said gas chamber, a firing pin connected to move with the piston, a trig ger, a sear having arms disposed on either side of the upper part of the trigger, and a bolt having recesses and a shoulder adapted to co-operate with the arms of said sear and with the upper part of said trigger, whereby to effect a safety lock, an automatic firing of the gun or a semi-automatic iirin as desired.

6. n a firearm, a barrel, a gas chamber, a piston in said gas chamber, a firing pin connected to move with the piston, a trigger, a sear having arms disposed on either side of the upper part of the trigger, a bolt having recesses anda shoulder ladapted to co-operate with the arms of said sear and with the upper part of saidtrigger, whereby to effect a safety lock, an automatic firing of the gun or a semi-automatic. firing as desired, and a spring pressed plunger for holding said bolt temporarily in any one of three positions.

7. In a firearm, a barrel, a gas chamber, a piston in said gas chamber, Va firing pin, a trigger, a sear having arms of unequal length disposed on either side of the upper part of the trigger, a bolt adapted to move transversely, recesses and a shoulder formed on said bolt, whereby to co-operate with the arms of said sear and with the upper part of the trigger to e-fect'a safety lock, an

automatic firing or a semi-automatic firing of the gun, as desired, and a spring pressed plunger for holding said bolt temporarily, in any one of three positions. v

8. In a firearm, a barrel, a gas chamber, a piston in said gas chamber, a firing pin, a trigger,'a sear having arms of unequal length disposed on either side of the upper part of the trigger, a bolt adapted to -move transversely, recesses and a shoulder formed on said bolt, whereby to cooperate with the arms of said sear and with the upper part 'of the trigger to effect a safety lock, an

automatic firing or a semi-automatic firing `control of the gun, a spring pressed plunger for holding said bolt temporarily in any one of the three positions, and a lug formed on said sear and adapted to-t into a slot formed in said trigger, whereby to limit the upward movement of the rear end of said sear. A y

9. In a firearm, a barrel, agas chamber, a piston in said gas chamber, a firing pin,

a trigger, a sear having arms disposed onv either side of.A the upper part of the trigger, a bolt adapted to move transversely, recesses and a shoulder formed on said bolt, whereby to co-operate with the arms ofsaid sear and with the upper part of the trigger to effect a safety lock, an automatic'iiring or a semi-automatic firing of the gun, as desired, a lspring pressed plunger for holding said bolt temporarily in any one of the three positions, and a shoulder on said sear for arresting the forward movement of the firing pin; 4

10. In a firearm, a barrel, a gas chamber, an actuator having a firing pin attached,4 a breech bolt, grooves formed in the front surface of said breech bolt, whereby to extract the cartridges from the barrel, the upper end of said grooves being formed on the arc of al circle, whereby Ito eject the cartridge shells from the firearm, and means for locking said breech firing position.

11. In a firearm, a barrel, a removable gas chamber, a hollow screw adapted to con- TIMOTHY F. HORAN.v

bolt temporarily in, 

